Back on dry land, Natalie used her cell phone to make reservations for evening festivities, making the most of Adrian's promise to do whatever she wanted. She planned something for the ladies, and something for the men – or at least for Leland. First,after returning home for a quick change of clothes, they would go into town and take a walk around the public garden, a beautiful spot that she thought TK would enjoy. Next, she planned a nice dinner in town at a recommended restaurant on the Harbor where they could eat fresh seafood and have a lovely view of both the harbor and the city. Finally, she had scored them four tickets for a night game with the Red Socks at Fenway Park.
Adrian was not enthralled with her choices, but held his peace until after they got back to the city.
When the Stottlemeyers were out of earshot at the botanical gardens, Adrian complained.
"A Ballgame? You know I don't like ballgames! There are crowds, and smells and…" Adrian said.
"Adrian, you told me anything I want to do." Said Natalie.
"Well, when I said anything, maybe I didn't mean exactly anything." He said.
"Listen, I do things that I don't want with you all the time." She responded.
"Like what?" he asked.
"Like all the times when I took you to the store and did your shopping for you" she replied.
"Well, I paid you to do those things." He said.
"And, sometimes I actually paid for those groceries." She replied.
"I reimbursed you." He said.
"Not always. And what about the time where I pushed your wheelchair up a steep hill twice because you just had to do things in the order you wanted them done." she said.
"You mean when you were pushing my wheelchair because you SHOT me? I seriously can't believe you're going there." He said.
"Oh, yeah. Well, uh, what about the time where we waited outside the bookstore overnight in the cold to go see that Christine Rapp woman who you were obsessed with in the Cooper Clan?" she said. "Do you think that was fun for me?"
"I wasn't obsessed." he replied.
"Were too." Natalie said.
"Was not." he replied.
"Were too." she answered. "Adrian, you practically fell all over yourself when you got a chance to be her bodyguard - that is until she turned out to be a cold blooded murderer!"
"Alright,fine. Maybe I was a little obsessed. But, what about the time that you made me go out in the Marina and told me to 'leap and a net will appear' and I almost drowned? You make me do things I don't want to do just as much. " he countered.
She was quiet for a moment. It was true, she was often able to get him to do things that he didn't want to do, and she had told herself that it was good for him – but it hadn't always been. Still, she didn't want to lose this argument, so she chose to deflect.
"So you're telling me that Leland and TK can come into town and you don't want to do this little thing that he might enjoy? After everything Leland has done for you and the many times he saved your life?" she said.
Adrian stopped and thought. Yes, Leland had been a very good and faithful friend, patient with Adrian's quirks and always there for him.
"Alright. We'll go. But, what was all this stuff about marriage being a two-way street and having to keep each other informed about decisions?" he said.
Zing! He was right again. How Natalie loathed to be in this situation.
"You're right. Okay, you're right. You happy now?" she said.
"I'd be happier if I thought you were happy." he stated. "What's really going on?"
Truth is, Natalie herself didn't know, and didn't know what to say.
"I don't know. I'm just tired I guess." She said.
He thought for a second, not sure she was being truthful, but not wanting to challenge. "That's understandable. You're still getting back into the swing of things, and you've been through a lot…Come here." He said, wrapping his arms around her for a hug.
"I apologize for complaining. It's not like me." He said.
Natalie tried to stifle a laugh, but failed.
"What? What now?" he asked.
"Nothing, honey Apology accepted." She said, taking him by the hand as they joined the Stottlemeyers on their stroll through the garden.
Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location, President Stoddard sat with various cabinet heads listening to status reports and viewing news accounts which were just now picking up the latest information on the Cannon Office Building. He had tried to keep this out of the public eye so that his team could go about their investigation unhindered, but now that the press had the story there was no pulling it back.
DC Police say that the IED that went off inside the Cannon Office Building appears to have been made of chemicals derived from a common household cleaner, and the actual device was believed to have been stored in a garbage can inside the lobby of the building. It was detonated during a scheduled fire-drill in which people were filing out to the parking lot through the lobby. 5 people were killed, and 15 people injured in the blast, 3 of them seriously. The death count is expected to rise.
Authorities say to be on the lookout for anything suspicious and to report any unusual activity to their emergency hotline at 202-555-3578. Back to you, Tim.
"I can't believe this. Most powerful country in the world with some of the greatest intelligence around, and some guy can walk right into the office building for the House of Representatives and pull off a stunt like this?" said Stoddard.
"Had to be someone from the cleaning crew, sir. Or perhaps the delivery guy." Said Fleming.
"You actually want me to believe that someone from the cleaning crew did this? Are you serious? And who did the explosion in Missouri? The exterminator? And what about in Boston Harbor? No. This is someone bigger than just some delivery guy. Someone with access. Multiple locations. Impossible to pinpoint. Someone with clout. Team, I want you to shut down all chatter within your organizations. Nobody speaks of this unless it is done over secure channels. Anyone violating that condition, I want them reported to me immediately. Do you understand?" said Stoddard.
"Yes sir!" they said somewhat in unison.
"Now, I'm leaving Gloria here but I have to at least make an appearance in order to assure the public that all is well." Said Stoddard.
"I wouldn't advise that sir." Said Brad Goins, head of the Secret Service.
"Goins, I normally take what you advise quite seriously. But I have to go against that right now. We will keep it short and sweet. I'll give a briefing to the press and sign an executive order authorizing the FBI Director Grier to have full access over everything. We can't let the public know that this is terrorism or that we don't yet know who is doing it. For all they know, it is a disgruntled employee of the Cannon staff who decided to make things nasty. The press hasn't connected it with the two other events. I want it kept that way. We can be back by 2100 hours tonight. You just do your best to protect me and I'll do my best to stay under your watch care." Stoddard said.
"Yes sir." Goins replied, immediately walking over to call in his top agents for the task.
